U.S. patent number 7,095,025 [Application Number 10/732,158] was granted by the patent office on 2006-08-22 for protective shroud for thermal imaging camera mounted to protective helmet.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Morning Pride Manufacturing, L.L.C.. Invention is credited to Mary I. Grilliot, William L. Grilliot, Patricia Lewis, John J. Reilly.
United States Patent |
7,095,025 |
Reilly , et al. |
August 22, 2006 |
Protective shroud for thermal imaging camera mounted to protective
helmet
Abstract
In a combination wherein a thermal imaging camera having a front
lens is mounted to a protective helmet, such as a firefighter's
helmet, where the thermal imaging camera is not covered from above
by any portion of the protective helmet, wherein a display is
mounted below the front area of the brim, and wherein an arm
connects the thermal imaging camera to the display, a shroud, which
is aluminized so as to be heat-reflective, is adapted, when secured
to the protective helmet, to cover the exposed top, side, and front
surfaces of the thermal imaging camera, except for a front opening
for the front lens and except for a bottom opening, through which
the display and the arm connecting the thermal imaging camera to
the display can pass when the shroud is being installed.
Inventors: |
Reilly; John J. (Bayside,
NY), Grilliot; William L. (Dayton, OH), Grilliot; Mary
I. (Dayton, OH), Lewis; Patricia (Huber Heights,
OH) |
Assignee: |
Morning Pride Manufacturing,
L.L.C. (Dayton, OH)
|
Family
ID: |
34634473 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/732,158 |
Filed: |
December 10, 2003 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050127296 A1 |
Jun 16, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
250/330; 250/333;
348/E5.024 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B
3/042 (20130101); H04N 5/225 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01L
31/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;250/330,333,342,353,338.3 ;359/350,356 ;2/6.6 ;D29/103 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Porta; David
Assistant Examiner: Boosalis; Faye
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wood, Phillips, Katz, Clark &
Mortimer
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. In a combination comprising a protective helmet and a thermal
imaging camera, the protective helmet having a brim, the thermal
imaging camera comprising a protective housing and being mounted to
the protective helmet, above the brim, where the thermal imaging
camera is not covered from above by any portion of the protective
helmet, an improvement wherein the combination further comprises a
protective shroud covering the exposed top, side, and front
surfaces of the thermal imaging camera comprising the protective
housing, except for a front opening for a front lens of the thermal
imaging camera.
2. In a combination comprising a protective helmet and a thermal
imaging camera, the protective helmet having a brim, the thermal
imaging camera comprising a protective housing and being mounted to
the protective helmet, above the brim, where the thermal imaging
camera is not covered from above by any portion of the protective
helmet, an improvement wherein the combination further comprises a
protective shroud secured to the protective helmet, the protective
shroud covering the exposed top, side, and front surfaces of the
thermal imaging camera comprising the protective housing, except
for a front opening for a front lens of the thermal imaging
camera.
3. The improvement of claim 1 or 2, wherein the protective shroud
is heat-reflective.
4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein the protective shroud is
thermally insulative.
5. The improvement of claim 1 or 2, wherein the protective shroud
is aluminized so as to be heat-reflective.
6. The improvement of claim 5, wherein the protective shroud is
thermally insulative.
7. The improvement of claim 1 or 2, wherein the protective shroud
is thermally insulative.
8. The improvement of claim 1 or 2, wherein the combination further
comprises a display mounted below the thermal imaging camera and an
arm connecting the thermal imaging camera to the display and
wherein the shroud has a bottom opening, through which the display
and the arm can pass when the protective shroud is being
installed.
9. For a combination comprising a protective helmet and a thermal
imaging camera having a front lens, the protective helmet having a
brim, the thermal imaging camera comprising a protective housing
being mounted to the protective helmet, above the brim, where the
thermal imaging camera is not covered from above by any portion of
the protective helmet, a protective shroud adapted to cover the
exposed top, side, and front surfaces of the thermal imaging camera
comprising the protective housing, except for a front opening for
the front lens.
10. For a combination comprising a protective helmet and a thermal
imaging camera having a front lens, the protective helmet having a
brim, the thermal imaging camera comprising a protective housing
and being mounted to the protective helmet, above the brim, where
the thermal imaging camera is not covered from above by any portion
of the protective helmet, a protective shroud adapted to be secured
to the protective helmet and to cover the exposed top, side, and
front surfaces of the thermal imaging camera comprising the
protective housing, except for a front opening for the front
lens.
11. The improvement of claim 9 or 10, wherein the protective shroud
is heat-reflective.
12. The improvement of claim 11, wherein the protective shroud is
thermally insulative.
13. The improvement of claim 9 or 10, wherein the protective shroud
is aluminized so as to be heat-reflective.
14. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the protective shroud is
thermally insulative.
15. The improvement of claim 9 or 10, wherein the protective shroud
is thermally insulative.
16. The improvement of claim 9 or 10, wherein the shroud has a
bottom opening, through which a display mounted below the thermal
imaging camera and an arm connecting the thermal imaging camera to
the display can pass when the protective shroud is being installed.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to an improvement in a combination wherein
a thermal imaging camera is mounted to a protective helmet, such as
a protective helmet for a firefighter or for an emergency rescue
worker, where the thermal imaging camera is not covered from above
by any portion of the protective helmet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,089,914, 6,016,160, 6,023,288,
6,476,391, and 6,606,114 B1, and in U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. US 2003/0122958 A1, it is known to mount a thermal
imaging camera and an associated display (viewer) to a
firefighter's helmet, so as to provide the firefighter with thermal
images of fallen or trapped persons or of heat-radiating objects,
who or which would be otherwise obscured, as by smoke.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,016,160, 6,023,288, and
6,606,114 B1, it is known to mount a thermal imaging camera and an
associated display below a front area of a brim of a firefighter's
helmet and to place the thermal imaging camera to one side of the
firefighter's head, so as to protect the thermal imaging camera
against falling objects and so as to place the thermal imaging
camera in what is described as "an envelope of reduced heat" below
the front area of the brim.
As exemplified in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S.
2003/0122958 A1, the disclosure of which is incorporated by
reference herein, it is known to mount a thermal imaging camera
above a front area of a brim of a firefighter's helmet and to mount
an associated display below the front brim. Therefore,
advantageously, the thermal imaging camera provides the firefighter
with a thermal image that is centered correctly, as compared to the
thermal image provided to the firefighter by a thermal imaging
camera placed to one side of the firefighter's head. However,
disadvantageously, the thermal imaging camera is not protected by
the front area of the brim of the firefighter's helmet, against
direct impingement of thermal radiation, which may cause the
thermal imaging camera to overheat.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides an improvement in a combination comprising
a protective helmet and a thermal imaging camera having a front
lens, the thermal imaging camera being mounted to the protective
helmet, where the thermal imaging camera is not covered from above
by any portion of the protective helmet. According to the
improvement, the combination further comprises a protective shroud
covering the exposed top, side, and front surfaces of the thermal
imaging camera, except for a front opening for the front lens. This
invention also provides, apart from a protective helmet and from a
thermal imaging camera, a protective shroud useful in such a
combination.
The protective shroud may be secured to the protective helmet. The
shroud, which may be aluminized so as to be heat-reflective, may be
thermally insulative. The shroud may have a bottom opening, through
which an associated display (viewer) and an arm connecting the
thermal imaging camera to the associated display can pass when the
shroud is being installed. The bottom opening is not used and may
be optionally omitted, a connecting arm is omitted, as when the
thermal imaging camera and an associated display (viewer) are
arranged to communicate wirelessly.
Although a protective shroud according to this invention is
intended to be used with a protective helmet having a brim with a
front portion, such as a firefighter's helmet conforming to the
firefighter's helmet disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,508, supra,
this invention contemplates that a protective shroud according to
this invention can be used, instead, with a protective helmet
having a narrow brim or having no perceptible brim, such as a
protective helmet for an oilfield worker or for a construction
worker, a miner's helmet, or a military helmet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination embodying this
invention and comprising a firefighter's helmet, a thermal imaging
camera mounted to the firefighter's helmet, above a front area of a
brim of the firefighter's helmet, and an aluminized shroud secured
to the firefighter's helmet and covering top, side, and front
surfaces of the thermal imaging camera, except for certain
openings.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are fragmentary, sectional details, as taken
along section lines numbered similarly in FIG. 1, in directions
indicated by arrows.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a firefighter is wearing a firefighter's
helmet 10, to which a thermal imaging camera 20 having a front lens
22 and an associated display (viewer) 30 connected to the thermal
imaging camera 20 via a flexible arm 32 are mounted to the
firefighter's helmet 10, above a front area 12 of a brim 14 of the
firefighter's helmet, in a manner disclosed in U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. US 2003/0122958 A1, supra, so as to be
thus mounted to the firefighter's helmet 10 where the thermal
imaging camera 20 is not covered from above by any portion of the
firefighter's helmet 10. The firefighter's helmet 10 may conform to
the firefighter's helmet disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,508, the
disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
As illustrated and described in United States Patent Application
Publication No. US 2003/0122858 A1, the disclosure of which has
been incorporated by reference herein, the thermal imaging camera
20 comprises a protective housing, which contains an infrared
camera assembly.
As contemplated by this invention, a protective shroud 50, which is
secured to the firefighter's helmet 10, covers the exposed top,
side, and front surfaces of the thermal imaging camera 20, except
for a front opening 52, which is elasticized for a snug fit, for
the front lens 22. Moreover, the protective shroud 50 covers bottom
surfaces of the thermal imaging camera 20, except for a bottom
opening 54, which is elasticized for a snug fit and through which
the associated display 30 and the connecting arm 32 pass when the
protective shroud 50 is installed by being pulled upwardly over the
associated display 30, along the connecting arm 32, and backwardly
over the thermal imaging camera 20. The protective shroud 50 has a
back edge 56, which is elasticized for a snug fit. The bottom
opening 54 is not used and may be optionally omitted, if the
connecting arm 32 is omitted, as when the thermal imaging camera 20
and the associated display 30 are arranged to communicate
wirelessly.
Preferably, the protective shroud 50 has plural fabric layers
including one or more inner, possible quilted, thermally insulative
layers and an outer layer, which is aluminized so as to be
heat-reflective. As illustrated, the protective shroud 50 is
secured to the firefighter's helmet 10 via an upper, elastic belt
60, which is sewn to the protective shroud 50, at a back seam 62,
and a lower, fabric belt 70, which is sewn to the protective shroud
50, at a front seam 72, and which has two opposite ends 74 wrapped
around the firefighter's helmet 10, above the brim 14, and buckled
to each other, behind the firefighter's helmet 10, via a buckle 76,
as illustrated, or via other means, such as hook-and-loop fasteners
(e.g. Velcro.TM. fasteners).
Advantageously, the protective shroud 50 protects that thermal
imaging camera 20 against being overheated by direct impingement of
thermal radiation, even though the thermal imaging camera 20 is not
mounted under the front area 12 of the brim 14 of the protective
helmet 10.
* * * * *